The film starts when a saber-toothed squirrel named Scrat, attempts to find a place to store his acorn for the winter. Eventually, as he tries to stomp it into the ground, he inadvertently causes a large crack to form in the ice that extends for miles before setting off a large avalanche which nearly crushes him. He barely escapes but finds himself getting stepped on by a herd of prehistoric animals migrating south in order to escape the forthcoming ice age. The migration begins when the animals of the Pleistocene head south to their new home. Macrauchenia 1: Why not call it the Big Chill or the Nippy era? I'm just sayin', how do we know it's an Ice age? Macrauchenia 2: Because of all the ice! Macrauchenia 1: Well, things just got a little chillier. Palaeotheriums: Help! Help! Papa Palaeotherium: Come on, kids, let's go. The traffic's movin'. Palaeotherium Child: But, but, but, Dad. Papa Palaeotherium: No buts. You can play extinction later. Palaeotherium Child: OK. Come on, guys. Glypto 1: So, where's Eddie? Glypto 2: He said he was on the verge of an evolutionary breakthrough. Glypto 1: Really? Glypto 3 (Eddie): I'm flying! Glypto 1: Some breakthrough. As this massive herd continued on, but, Suddenly, a large gasp erupted in the crowd of mammals. Everyone looked and to their shock, they saw a huge Wooly Mammoth stomping his way across the herd, going the opposite direction. Spooked, the mammals in his path frantically started moving out of the way. Animal 1: - Look out, Look out! Animal 2: - You're going the wrong way! Animal 3: - The other way! Aardvark: Crazy mammoth! As this happened, the mammoth didn’t glance at what he was causing, nor did he seem to care. He kept stomping his way through the crowd, ignoring everyone around him. This mammoth, Manfred, had a grumpy expression on his face as he plowed through the crowd. Only one mammal had the guts to stand up to him for his actions.